The New Yorker Delicatessen is practically a landmark in the Star City of Roanoke, Virginia,…read more providing Quality Subs, Deli Meats, and other delicious items at very reasonable prices. I never got to visit it before Covid. But after Covid the dining room is no longer in operation and the Deli is Open for Take Out orders only. Their menu has been practically the same for 30 years, but now they accept credit cards for payment as well as cash. They have one of the largest parking lots of a restaurant located on Williamson Road. Yet it is never full anymore because now the restaurant is Open for Take Out orders only. Nevertheless, after all these years, I was looking forward to going in and discovering what was inside that has continue to attract such a large clientele to the restaurant. With a beautiful Art Deco-Ish Restaurant sign on its parking lot, that entice you to drive in; the architectural solid design of the building structure seems to be reflecting how solid this business continues to be in spite all it has gone through during the Civid era. The restaurant's building design contained many brown bricks as well as tiles making it look warm and solid. As one entered through two larged open doors, the first thing one saw was refrigerated display cases with Deli meats and other food items such as potato salad, cheese cakes. One of their employees greeted me with a smile behind the counter and even though I had a small menu of the place, she showed me a large version of the menu located on one of the walls, when I told her this was my first time here. The decor was very simple with chips filling all the all the wooden shelves around, a framed large portrait of the deceased founder of the restaurant, and many award certificates that the restaurant had won through the years. I ordered a Cheese Dog to go, because of the quality look of the hot dogs stored inside the refrigerator display case up front. And also an Onion Wheel, that had Corned Beef, Pastrami, and Imported Swiss, Served with Lettuce and Onions on a Buttered Onion Roll. For dessert I ordered a slice of their famous Cheesecake made in-house and a Chocolate Bomb. A dessert that I had for the first time at a local Italian Restaurant. Made with chocolate mousse in the center and other layers of chocolate all around, it is one of my favorites desserts ever. When I approached the cashier counter to pick up my order and to pay for it, a very welcoming and friendly lady who seemed to be the manager of the restaurant talked to me a little bit about the history about the restaurant and about its founder and his wife. From there I also got to see the dining area, that even though it was not used at the moment, gave you a sense of how the restaurant looked when it had eat in service. The food items were all reasonably priced. They sandwiches bread was soft and fresh and well toasted. And the deli meats, cheese, and other ingredients were served in generous portions, and amazingly delicious. And the slice of Dill Pickle was a nice touch to the eating experience. The desserts were also amazing, from the Cheesecake made in-house to the Chocolate Bomb who I would definitely return just for this alone. Even though I missed the inside the restaurant dining experience, I definitely highly recommend the amazing food and extraordinary customer service received. Great place to Order Out food for a family gathering or a special occasion party or event.

Good food in spite of limited on-site Dining. I've heard complaints, but when I get a classic sub,…read moreit clearly reminds me of my younger self and friends eating there in the late 60's.

really solid bar food!…read more I love the vibe here and the atmosphere makes you want to stay awhile. Definitely a great local spot if you're looking for good bar food and a fun, relaxed place to grab a drink.

We visited the Yard Bird Tavern in downtown Roanoke. Finding a spot can be a bit of a gamble;…read moreunless you're lucky enough to snag a space at the curb, you should expect to pay for parking. ​Atmosphere & Menu ​Upon entering, we found the restaurant pleasantly sophisticated, though it was nearly at capacity. While we opted not to explore the drink menu, we were eager to see what the kitchen had to offer. The menu itself is concise, focusing primarily on wings, sandwiches, and pizzas, supplemented by a few small appetizers. ​The culinary style is quite eclectic. They feature several unconventional toppings and flavor combinations that might seem a bit eccentric at first glance. ​The Culinary Experience ​I decided on a flatbread-style pizza topped with: ​Smoked chicken ​Pickles ​Peppadew-style peppers (which resembled small cherry tomatoes) ​A tangy, zesty sauce reminiscent of an enchilada base with an extra "zing." ​My wife opted for a "build-your-own" pizza featuring red onions, pepperoni, and bell peppers. Although she realized too late that she had forgotten to request light sauce, she noticed the oversight immediately upon the dish's arrival. ​Service Observations ​The service was a bit of a mixed bag. Our waitress was professional but remarkably brisk. She lacked the usual pleasantries or "small talk" one might expect, focusing instead on efficiency. While her haste felt a bit impersonal, I couldn't complain about her attentiveness--she was incredibly prompt at refilling my iced tea the moment my glass was empty. Make sure you bring your pocketbook this pizza brings a sting at the register.

Food was great atmosphere was awesome and staff was on point.great service and great people made…read morefor a very enjoyable time

Today, just only two weeks after opening, I discovered a very unique family-owned business by two…read morevery friendly and unique husband and wife partners. After being awarded the Triad Yelper of the Year 2024 Award at the Yelpies Award Ceremony last year, an event that honored the highest-performing Yelp Elites, I decided that this year, as an All-Star Yelp Elite, I not only wanted to be the first to discover new shops and restaurants and bring them to the attention of the public, but also to uncover those found in hidden paths that for one reason or another have not reached the public in its totality. And 7 Stars Lounge in West Downtown Roanoke, Virginia, is the perfect example. 7 Stars Lounge is a very unique business indeed. It's a combination of a Cigar Lounge, Bar, and Cafe. After retiring, Larry the co-owner with his wife Mini decided to open a business that embodied the things that they enjoy most in life. The husband enjoys smoking a good cigar, relaxing in a leather recliner, while watching a large screen TV or talking with friends. So originated the concept of a Cigar Lounge. In their business, this lounge is located in a separate adjacent room with leather recliners, side tables, large screen TVs, and two pool tables. Just outside of this room is a humidifier room where they have a great variety of quality cigars for sale. While other Cigar Lounges make you pay for a membership in order to enjoy the place. Here, as long as you purchase any item from the Cigar store, Bar, or Cafe. You have the right to enjoy the Cigar Lounge for free. The wife's, who is a Chinese native, and co-owner of the business, favorite food is the Chicago Hot Dog. So they decided that the Cafe specialty would center around the genuine Chicago-style Hot Dog, with autentic Vienna Beef Hot Dogs. This hot dog is inserted into a soft poppyseed bun and topped with mustard, Chicago-style relish, chopped onions, half-sliced tomatoes, a pickle spear, and a sport pepper, to give it that extra crunch and flavor. Besides this, they also have other Hot Dogs like the Chili Hot Dog, the Kraut Hot Dog, and the Original Hot Dog. As for me I like a good hot dog, so I welcome this new addition to the culinary lineup in the Star City. The menu also includes some Sandwiches, Breakfast Sandwiches, Bakery items, Salads, and authentic Fried Rice cooked by the wife. She is also planning on cooking freshly made donuts from scratch. The Bar they plan to have will only have beers (draft brews like Stella Artois and Heineken plus bottles and cans) and a selection of wines. The restaurant's space itself is a nice size and furnished with quality wood tables and chairs. They already plan to hold a group party their which will consume a selection of items from their menu. Today, I ordered two Chicago style Hot Dogs and a can of Dr Pepper to drink. And they tasted amazingly delicious. Specially the quality of the Vienna Beef franks, which is known for their signature snap, that you don't find in many other hot dog places. And the fresh and soft poppyseed buns that topped off the favor and texture of the dogs, not including the other wonderful ingredients. I'm not a smoker so one of my concerns going to eat there was if the smoke of the Cigar Lounge would reach the Cafe, and I can assure you it didn't. The door that devides the two is very tight. My other concern was the parking situation. But in front of the business they have several parking spaces for the exclusive use of their customers. I highly recommend this place for those who enjoy the different items I've written about in this review. The owners are so friendly and nice that we should give them our support. I'm looking forward to returning one morning to have breakfast there, and to trying out their homemade donuts and fried rice.

After a little over a year of opening its doors in Vinton, Virginia, across the street from the…read moreVinton Library, this hole in the wall, family-owned American restaurant with the name of Absolutely Delicious Bar & Grill, has absolutely delivered some of the best smash burgers, hot dogs, and other delicious freshly made American comfort food in this neighborhood and beyond. After having been selected as number 4 of Yelp's Top 50 most prolific Elites of 2025, a year when I also was awarded the Yelp Triad Squad Photographer of the Year Award at their Yelpies 2025 Award Ceremony, an event that honored the highest-performing Yelp Elites, and where last year I was awarded the Yelp Triad Squad Yelper of the Year Award, I decided that this year, as an All-Star Yelp Elite, I not only wanted to be the first to discover new restaurants and businesses, and bring them to the attention of the public, but also to uncover those found in hidden paths that for one reason or another have not reached the public in its totality. And Absolutely Delicious Bar & Grill, in Vinton, Virginia, is a perfect example. Today I decided to give them a visit for a follow-up review of the first one I wrote when they first opened. The first thing I was happy to see were picnic tables with colorful patio umbrellas placed in the open space yard on the left of the restaurant. It seems like they are gearing up for expansion and many new things to come for the Spring of 2026, after a very successful 2025, for its high-quality food at reasonable prices, in a welcoming and friendly environment, with excellent service. As usual, as soon as I walked in the place, I was received with a heartfelt, open-arm, very warm welcome, and was given the good news that starting on March 16th their hours will be expanded to 10:30AM - 10:00PM Mondays through Thursdays and 10:30AM - 1:00AM Fridays and Saturdays. They told me about all their plans for the Spring of the new year, including the further expansion of their outdoor patio dining area. My server Justin, the son of this family-owned business, took my order and had me seat down at the counter of my choice. I ordered a Coke to drink, forgetting that they also had Cherry Coke, my favorite. To eat I ordered a Jesse Jones Beef All Beef Hotdog with mustard, ketchup, and relish; as well as a Smokehouse Burger, which had a double smash burgers, BBQ sauce, Bacon, Caramelized Onions, Pickles and two cheeses of my choice. I picked American and Swiss cheese as my choice and they customized it to include lettuce, tomatoes, and ketchup. Then I made it a combo with Waffle Fries and a medium Coke. I enjoyed watching the cook make my food in their open kitchen. Wearing special black disposable nitrile gloves, he grabbed a ball of fresh, high-quality ground meat and put it on the grill; then he used a burger smasher to flatten the ball-sized beef patties onto the hot surface of the grill for maximum searing. During the process, he changed his disposal gloves several times to ensure food safety. He also used a basting brush to butter the burger buns before he heated them on the grill. This not only gave the burger a good taste but made it look delicious. I invite you to view my photographs and videos accompanying this review to get a better sense of the place and the quality of their food. When I took a bite of my smash burger, it tasted absolutely mouthwatering, or as the restaurant is called "Absolutely Delicious." The same with the hot dog. Best hot dog around! And the waffle fries were amazing. They were well seasoned and shaken after they came out of the frier; soft in the inside and crispy on the outside. The best waffle fries I've ever had. Even better than the ones from Chick-fil-A! They also had me taste their newly introduced Tater Tots; which are a graded potato formed into small cylinders and deep-fried. Their taste and texture were out-of-this-world! Very soft in the inside and just the right amount of crunchinnes on the outside. For dessert I had a couple of Strawberry Cheesecake Rolls. It reminded me of the fried cheesecake commonly served in Mexican restaurants but these also had strawberry filling. I was so pleased with their food and service that I gave them a good tip and paid at the counter with my Harvard Alumni World Mastercard. I highly recommend this little restaurant and urge you to give them your total support. What you'll get back will be an "absolutely amazing" dining experience like never before.

Today while I was working I got a craving for a Hot dog, tater tots and sweet tea. I looked on…read moretheir menu and they had all of it so i door dashed it and it was the BEST! Not to mention the fact i have a box full of tater tots I am going to eat with my dinner tonight of a Hamburger when i get home . First time ever eating here and look forward to the next time. Thank you for a delicious and hearty lunch today Absolutely Delicious!

I have been to many bakeries in my lifetime, many wonderful ones located in cities like San Juan,…read moreMadrid, Rome, Paris, Brussels, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, Miami, and Washington, DC, among others. I have truly enjoyed dining in each and every one of them. But Bread Craft, located in the Star City of Roanoke, is in a class of its own. After being ranked 4th among Yelp's Top 50 Most Prolific Elites of 2025, a distinction recognizing my consistent community engagement and high-quality contributions, I decided that this year, as an All-Star Yelp Elite, I not only wanted to be the first to discover new restaurants, businesses, and establishments, and bring them to the attention of the public, but also to go back and write follow-up reviews on those places that impressed me the most during 2025, and Bread Craft Bakery, located in Downtown Roanoke, is the perfect example of one of them. Bread Craft is a premier, artisan European-style bakery established in 2006 by owner Alex Eliades, who besides having a passion for baking, has over 25 years of baking experience, and leads the bakery focusing on traditional slow-fermentation techniques. The bakery is known for its high-quality, scratch-made sourdough, pastries, and Croissants. It evolved from a wholesale operation into a popular 6,000 square foot café on Church Avenue, also supplying local restaurants. The bakery specializes in Franch and German-style baking, utilizing sourdough as a natural leavener. It servers breakfast and lunch items, including sandwiches, salads, and some creative breakfast egg entrées. They are open Wednesdays through Sundays from 8:00AM - 2:00PM and are well known for running out of items before the end of the day. For this review I visited the Bakery / Café for breakfast on two consecutive Wednesdays. The first Wednesday I arrived too late to be able to have their Chorizo & Eggs Cocotte from their Breakfast menu. Breakfast is only served until noon, and I found out about this on that day. So instead I had a Cheese Danish and a house-made Mocha Coffee. Both items were delicious. On the second Wednesday I arrived much earlier for breakfast. Luckily, right before a whole rush of customers arriving to place Take-out orders. As soon as I walked inside I immediately felt comfortable with its clean and contemporary architectural design and decor, and an exposed red brick wall that gave it a warm ambiance. One can see that the owner spent a substantial amount in renovating the place when they moved here, and that they took good care of it, because it looked as if it had just opened for the very first time yesterday. While I was looking over all the baked items they had, I received a friendly greeting and warm welcome from a lady behind the counter who seemed to be the manager and took my order. To start I ordered a Chorizo Quiche which happened to be the Quiche of the day, and a house-made Mocha Coffee. Then since I was planning to turn this into a Brunch, for my main entrée I ordered their Chorizo Cocotte from the Breakfast menu. And for dessert I had a Chocolate Hazelnut Croissant that was simply irresistible. Everything tasted amazingly delicious, especially since I love Chorizo. The Quiche had an amazing crust with the eggs inside cooked with the perfect amount of chorizo. The Chorizo Cocotte was served in an elongated bowl with two poached eggs over Spanish sausage, accompanied by three slices of freshly made Baguette. And if all this wasn't enough, the Chocolate Hazelnut Croissant was the perfect ending dessert to this fabulous put together Brunch. Oh and the coffee was the best of the best. I invite you to view my photographs accompanying this review to get a better sense of the place and the quality of their food. What an outstanding dining experience I just had at Bread Craft. Wonderful ambiance, amazing food, and extraordinary customer service. I highly recommend this Bakery/Café whenever you're in the area. I'm absolutely certain it will become one of your favorites bakery.

The place I live has no good bread bakeries, so it was delightful to find Bread Craft while…read morevisiting Roanoke. We were only in town for a few days, but we made it our breakfast place for our entire visit. They have excellent pastries in addition to fantastic-looking bread, and great coffee. I had their strawberry bostock (which in this case is a sort of brioche-based confection with strawberries and powdered sugar) and a blueberry Danish. It's a cozy yet spacious place. The staff were super friendly. I'll miss them!

Service was amazing. Highly recommend, the coco location chicken salad was fresh and amazing. The…read morejumbo shrimp with plum sauce was to die for. Everyone was so friendly and just overall amazing people and food.

Stop here every time I'm in town. Variety of sandwiches, salads, and desserts. Love the white bean…read morechili. Haven't had a bad meal here yet.

The food is amazing! Do not be intimidated by its location or it's look. Everything is fresh and…read moreflavorful. The bread is just like it was in France - crusty out and soft in. We will definitely be going there on regular rotation.

After reading the glowing reviews on Yelp, we made the decision to lunch at Viet Sub. The…read moreconverted home was clean, and the employees were friendly. Both my wife and I, being fans of Vietnamese food, ordered the touted "The Beast" sandwich and a fried egg roll. The egg roll was greasy and tasteless, and the typical packaged duck sauce didn't help. "The Beast" sandwich was loaded with fresh vegetables, and obviously had meat (we saw it), but the combination of ingredients on the sandwich tasted like a bland, meatless, vegetable sub with no discernable sauce. Overall, the visit was a total disappointment. While dining, we could smell the bowls of pho being served, and that might be worth a return trip.

Food was amazing! The employees were very professional…read more Very clean the bathrooms are clean as well highly recommend

Out of the way for us but good like the rest of Jersey Mikes. The sun was good with a little too…read moremuch lettuce and vinegar oil. Bathroom was clean and most of all I got a Military Discount all I had to do was ask. I only eat at restaurants that have a Military Discount!

A nice specialty grocery with deli counter…read more I was too late to catch the deli counter but browsed and got a loaf of sourdough from a vendor. From my limited experience I would return.

Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined such an extraordinary Grocery and Cafe that opened…read moreits doors in 2019 after quality extensive renovations to Tinnell's Finer Foods, when it closed its doors after 82 years of serving the South Roanoke community. When I came to visit this place for the first time I had no idea that it had a close relationship to the River and Rail Restaurant which I reviewed last year, giving it the highest rank of my Five Star reviews ever. When doing my research for this review I found out that the long-time Roanoke residents, Whit and Lauren Ellerman, the owners of Crystal Spring Grocery, are also the owners of the River and Rail Restaurant, located on the same block as Crystal Spring Grocery. The Ellermans clearly have an eye for recognizing the possibilities of vacant buildings and the talents of others and a vision of how they can come up with something as wonderful as this establishment. Gourmet grocery store and Cafe is a short definition of what Crystal Spring Grocery Company is all about. But I must go more in depth of what makes it so special and unique beside being gourmet. First of all I was very impressed with the interior design of the building space. Simple yet beautiful in its simplicity. I particularly loved its shiny whitish gray floors, and the green furniture and design, throughout the Grocery as well as Cafe. Also, I was very impressed with the windows and lighting treatment of the place. Second, I was very impressed with the quality and organization of the food items and wines, in the Grocery area. Third, with the menu items and quality of the food coming out of the kitchen of the Cafe. I had an Iced Sweet Tea to drink, and a Chicken Sandwich with Fries to eat. Everything was amazingly delicious. And last, but not least, I was highly impressed with the quality of your employees; with the ones behind the counter up front and the ones taking the orders and handing them out in the Cafe area. They all were so friendly and welcoming and at the same time so knowledgeable and organized, providing exceptional customer service individual and working as Team players. I highly recommend this Grocery and Cafe to everyone reading my review and viewing my photographs accompanying this review. This place is another gem in the this neighborhood.

The downtown, brick-walled space has charm, and the baked goods appeared to have quality. My…read moreexperience left something to be desired. Arriving several hours before closing, I found only a couple of loaves on sale, and a long line to get with them. I managed to snag the last one that wasn't plain white bread, and thought I'd add a slice of pizza as it looked appealing. While the ingredients were there, the little toaster oven they used barely warmed it up at all. I ate it there, but I'd suspect it would have been much better if I'd gotten it to go and cooked it properly myself. They don't open all that early on weekdays and I've struggled to make it in, and on the weekend, they struggled to meet expectations. Perhaps on a different day, they could do a better job of getting the right baked goods into my hands.

For some time now every time I passed by this bakery located on Market Street in the heart of…read moreDowntown Roanoke, I would try to look inside the store, but the screen doors and the reflection of the windows didn't allow me to, and I never saw anyone going in or out the bakery. So I never thought anything about it, and never had an reason to. But today I said to myself, I have to take the road less traveled and go inside. And when I did, I discovered the best kept secret of Downtown Roanoke. A bakery that brought me back to years ago, when I visited Paris, France. With beautiful original hardwood floors and exposed red brick walls, high ceilings, and wonderful lighting treatment, the restaurant projected a warm and cozy feeling with the right ambiance to relax and have a cup of homemade coffee accompanied by a piece of freshly baked bread, bagel, or danish; or even better, the creative discovery of the Sweet & Spicy Bacon with Caramelized Onion Scrambled Egg Pizza. Which I definitely ended up ordering and enjoying with a large cup of Cafe Mocha, which was only 25 cents more than the small cup. And was one of the best Mochas that I have ever had in any coffee shop, yet along in any bakery. The solid white with tones of black marble tables and black chairs, contributed to make the ambiance of the bakery the right place in which to enjoy a breakfast none other than those I once enjoyed in Paris, France. As I enjoyed my breakfast dining experience, steady customers came in to have breakfast as well, and many others to order takeout. One even came to order a beautiful made cake which they also pride themselves of having, as well as one of my favorites, the Peanut Butter Pie. And last but not least was the young lady server behind the counter. She warmly greeted me when I arrived and answered all my questions about this quaint local business, and many of its products, which were many. And who prepared the amazing Cafe Mocha. And brought it to the table of my choice, together with the amazingly delicious, first time discovered, scrambled egg pizza. I also had an "Asiago Bagel" with Cream Cheese and a Cherry Cheese Croissant. The other employees and one that I think could have been the owner, I was able to greet with my eyes and a smile, seemed so friendly and also contributed to make me feel at home. I highly recommend this cozy Bakery Cafe who also has wraps, hot paninis, sandwiches, soups, and salads on its menu to enjoy for lunch. What an extraordinary dining experience! I will never again walk by an unknown food establishment without stopping by and walking in. For it is those who take the road less traveled who discover and enjoy the best in life.